NHL 2017-2018

[iacas]

5 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Rangers fired AV last night around 11PM Eastern.

Count me as a very happy individual! 

I don't understand y'all. What was your problem with him? He did well IMO.

[billchao]

13 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't understand y'all. What was your problem with him? He did well IMO.

https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2018/4/8/17212212/alain-vigneault-fired-jeff-gorton-new-york-rangers

Same issues as Pete DeBoer when he was fired from NJ.

[RFKFREAK]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

I don't understand y'all. What was your problem with him? He did well IMO.

There was a lot but these are my top 3.

1) Breaking up McD and Shatty after 4 periods (may have been 5 or 6) and pretty much saddling McD with Nick freaking Holden.  Holden is best suited to be a 3rd pair defenceman.  After having McD play with Girardi when Girardi was no longer a player who should have been on the top pair, he doesn't even give McD a realistic chance to play with the guy who went to the Rangers on a hometown discount but who Gorton still spent a good amount of money on,    

2) Playing Kampfer over anyone regularly.  I don't really care how bad Smith was playing, he's still better than Kampfer who at best is a spot starter on the 3rd pair but otherwise is an AHLer.

3) Playing Pavel Buchnevich on the third line.  This is an overall extension of AV time and again playing favorites, particularly favoring veterans.  A vet can make the same mistakes as a younger player and the vet won't suffer the same repercussions as a young player including being demoted to the third line, benchings for the rest of a game, or scratching them for the next game or multiple games. 

Personally, I would have axed him following last season.

This article also provides some good points, too: https://nypost.com/2018/04/08/rangers-made-best-choice-by-changing-coach/

Quote

But there had been noticeable slippage over the past three seasons — during which goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist, Antti Raanta and Ondrej Pavelec were under constant stress to produce magnificently in order to give the team a chance to win. Defensive zone play was relentlessly chaotic, whether the blue line featured six veterans or four neophytes. The front of the net was ceded long ago.

The same goal, from an uncovered opponent in front while both defensemen were chasing the same puck-carrier in the corner or behind the net, must have been scored 300 times the past three years. Under Vigneault’s system, which he insisted he always had adjusted according to a team’s personnel, the defensemen, though, were not always the sole or primary culprits.

Backchecking forwards’ presence in the defensive zone had largely become an optional operation beginning with 2015-16, a year that might soon fondly be remembered as the good old days.

 

[iacas]

Okay, well, good luck. Your next coach has got almost nothing to work with.

[RFKFREAK]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

Okay, well, good luck. Your next coach has got almost nothing to work with.

Well, the front office has pretty much said next year is a rebuilding year so I just want a coach who will develop younger talent and will allow them to make mistakes and learn from them without having to worry about benchings or sitting out games, etc. and who at least incorporates the use of analytics in making decisions. 

By blowing the team up and firing AV so quickly, it makes me confident that Gorton understands the kind of coach the needs. 

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

Well, the front office has pretty much said next year is a rebuilding year so I just want a coach who will develop younger talent and will allow them to make mistakes and learn from them without having to worry about benchings or sitting out games, etc. and who at least incorporates the use of analytics in making decisions. 

By blowing the team up and firing AV so quickly, it makes me confident that Gorton understands the kind of coach the needs. 

As long as your president is Glen Sather… good luck.

[RFKFREAK]

3 minutes ago, iacas said:

As long as your president is Glen Sather… good luck.

I really feel that by blowing up the team and firing AV as quickly as they did, it shows that Gorton has a lot more control in the decision making.  Only time will tell I guess. 

[gogolfing]

I am relegated to hoping the Habs win the Rasmus Dahlin lottery, however, I am intrigued with a few of the round one match ups in the playoffs. 

Have an Original six battle between Leafs and Bruins, the battle of Pennsylvania with the Flyers and Pens, and LA vs Vegas...could end up a good rivalry because of proximity, and I want to see if the VGK can replicate their regular season success. 

I would like to see the Preds win it all this year.  

[RFKFREAK]

9 minutes ago, gogolfing said:

I am relegated to hoping the Habs win the Rasmus Dahlin lottery, however, I am intrigued with a few of the round one match ups in the playoffs. 

Have an Original six battle between Leafs and Bruins, the battle of Pennsylvania with the Flyers and Pens, and LA vs Vegas...could end up a good rivalry because of proximity, and I want to see if the VGK can replicate their regular season success. 

I would like to see the Preds win it all this year.  

Dahlin is going to be so good.  

 

[DaveP043]

Once again the Washington Capitals are in the playoffs, this time against the Blue Jackets.  My official prediction, the Caps win, and go on to lose in 7 to Pittsburgh.  Why should this year be any different?

Actually, I'm a little optimistic.  The past two years, the Caps got such a big lead in the regular season that they seemed to be coasting for at least a month at the end of the season.  This year, they needed to play hard almost to the end, so I think they've not had much of a chance to get "soft" in their routines.  Whether this means a difference in the playoffs, I have no clue, but if a fan can't find a reason for hope entering the playoffs, he shouldn't even be watching.

 

[mcanadiens]

On 4/8/2018 at 2:47 PM, RFKFREAK said:

Rangers fired AV last night around 11PM Eastern.

Count me as a very happy individual! 

I got your perfect guy. 

[billchao]

Pretty good year since the Devils made the playoffs, considering I was expecting them to be in lottery competition for Dahlin (but damn if he isn't exactly what the team needs, oh well).

I wouldn't sleep on this team. They've basically been in playoff mode since early March and had to go 7-0-1 to clinch a berth before the last game of the season (which they threw away to rest some key players).

[Bucki1968]

The Devils are about to "Feel the Thunder".

[billchao]

3 hours ago, Bucki1968 said:

The Devils are about to "Feel the Thunder".

[billchao]

https://www.beta.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/ken-dryden-its-time-for-action

Lengthy, but worth reading.

[iacas]

17 minutes ago, billchao said:

https://www.beta.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/ken-dryden-its-time-for-action

Lengthy, but worth reading.

While I was reading it, the Penguins scored another four goals.

I kid, I kid…

[RFKFREAK]

7 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

I got your perfect guy. 

Ugh, could not think of a worse person to be the Rangers next head coach.   ??

[mcanadiens]

9 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Ugh, could not think of a worse person to be the Rangers next head coach.   ??

Yeah. It was the best/worst I could do on short notice.

Common though. It would be fun. That guy already has a colorful history at MSG.